1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an entertainment system for use on a child's seat and, more particularly, to an audio and video system adapted for interconnection to a child's seat to entertain the child when seated therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well-known that most children will not remain seated very long without becoming restless or agitated. In fact, many children will try to climb out of their seat or, begin to yell and scream if they are strapped in the seat, after only a few minutes. This can be especially stressful to passengers in a vehicle, and particularly the driver, when a child refuses to remain quietly seated within a child safety.
In the past, attempts to address this problem have proposed entertaining a child when seated in a car seat or stroller in an effort to occupy the child's attention. Examples of such proposed solutions include fitting car seats, strollers, high chairs, and the like with such gadgets as dials, spinning wheels, knobs, and other moving and/or attention-grabbing objects. More effective solutions to this problem are found in the U.S. patents to Takada, U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,777 and Leal, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,352. Takada discloses a child safety seat for vehicles which includes speakers built-in to the upper side panels of the seat which interconnect to a sound producing apparatus built-in to the seat. The sound producing apparatus is activated by a detecting means, such as a pressure sensing switch in the seat bottom, for detecting the presence or absence of a child in the seat. When a child is seated in the seat, the sound generating apparatus is activated to produce sound that is emitted from the speakers.
Our previous invention, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,482,352, is directed to a child seat having audio producing means. Specifically, our previous invention includes an audio source and speakers carried on a child seat, wherein music or other audio programs are audible to a child in the seat. In one embodiment, the speakers are built-in to the seat and they interconnect to an audio source housed in a compartment on the side of the seat. In another embodiment, the speakers are fitted within a cover or apron which removably attaches to the seat and the audio source is carried in a pocket, pouch, or other carry means on a side panel of the cover. A wire harness interconnects to the speakers and extends through the cover to a jack in the audio source carry means. The jack plugs into the audio source carried on the cover so that upon activation of the audio source, sound is emitted from the speakers which is audible to a child in the seat.
While the various proposed solutions in the prior art are somewhat effective to capture a child's attention when seated in a car seat or like device, they have several shortcomings which limits their commercial feasibility. In particular, the child safety seat disclosed in the Takada patent is expensive to manufacture, requiring custom design and fitting of the components therein. Furthermore, the activation of the audio source by detecting presence or absence of the child is not desirable in that it prevents control by the parent or adult occupants in the vehicle. Most importantly, the Takada seat apparatus is not readily adaptable to existing child seat products nor does it lend itself for installation within commonly found child seat designs.
Furthermore, the various devices in the related art fail to address interconnection of a video source to a child seat which, together with the audio source, provides a more complete entertainment system. It is believed that a child's attention can be captured for a much longer period of time when providing both visual and/or audio stimulation. The present invention proposes a more effective and complete solution to the problems associated with keeping a child quietly seated for extended periods of time in a car seat or like device, by accommodating for both audio and/or visual entertainment.